Killing Me Softly
by Nimarin Driggen
Summary: A new neighbor moved into the apartment above Kurama, or rather, Shuichi. He never sees her and it makes him and his companions wonder. When they happen to upon each other one day her quick escape makes him more curious. Who is she and why does he feel like she a danger or maybe in danger instead.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi!**  
 **It's Nima-chan here!  
** **I thought I'd make a fanfic concerning my favorite anime, YU YU HAKUSHO! I'll more than likely make smaller chapters for this one than I do for my other two, but I hope that you enjoy this story. I've always loved this series and honestly I've been meaning write something for it.**

 **This tale is going to go back and forth between my oc character, Kurama/Shuichi, Hiei and another character from the series I won't reveal yet.  
No I'm not going to automatically make any of them a couple and honestly I'm not sure who will end up with her or even if she does end up with a love interest, I'm kinda making this up as I go haha.**

 **Anyways, here we go!**

* * *

She never really belonged, one way or another, she never could keep a friend or a connection for long, eventually everyone left her. Alone. It was such a powerful word. Lonely, was even worse and those were exactly the words to describe her.  
Walking the concrete path before her she weaved through the crowd of people that swarmed around her. Slight heeled boots took graceful strides, long soft black hair fell around her shoulders the rest pulled up in a loose bun. Her look seemed average, light freckles scattered across her cheekbones, average height, not thin or overweight but if one took closer inspection she was lean and fit, she wore a simple dark gray knee high dress and wore little to no jewelry. She looked so plain and simple, but she held herself confidently in posture, she still could easily blend into this crowd that she had found herself in.  
However she hardly stayed in one place for too long, it never worked out well for her. The young woman had continued walking on until she only was surrounded by a lingering few who continued on their way when she stopped in front of an apartment complex. A travel bag had been held tightly in her hand the whole way, her icy blue eyes gazed upon the building, though she wandered from place to place often, she really only wanted a place to call home, where she would be left alone and forgotten, maybe this time will be different.  
"It has to," she muttered in answer to herself as she continued to the apartments to speak with the landlord.

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It had been a boring day for Shuichi, his job and college had slowly become mundane, it had become like clockwork, wake, eat, classes, work, home, rest, repeat.  
When he had graduated high school and started college he decided he would move out of his mother's home, he honestly didn't want to be a financial burden when he was capable of taking care of himself. He was even expecting a new sibling soon so he knew they needed as much extra space as they could get.  
It didn't take long for him to acquire a job, nor to find a decent apartment that he could afford on his own. It had taken the fox months to make the small space home and adjust to his new life. However it had taken only days for his friends to find out where he lived.  
Yusuke was the first to formally visit and had quite often sometimes bringing Keiko along, he had felt Hiei's presence from the beginning, though it wasn't often, Hiei eventually paid the fox a visit from time to time, then the ex-spirit detective brought Kazuma over. They helped to break up his mundane routine when they decided to visit either one at a time, in pairs or when they just so happen to all come at the same time, he appreciated their company but he also enjoyed his solitude.  
It felt natural there, he didn't have to pretend to be a normal human within his own home, it was safe, quiet, and he was - step step step step - his green eyes gazed up to his ceiling, suddenly gaining a new neighbor above him.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!  
I also decided to combine chapters 1 and 2 because I felt that individually they were too short haha  
** **Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!**

 **And I know I know, I need to post up new chapters in my other two stories, I'm currently working on it I PROMISE!  
I just had the case of bad writers block, especially for my RotG x X-Men crossover 'Something to Believe In',  
** **but I do plan on posting a chapter for Treasure Planet soon so keep a look out for it!**

 **In the meantime, please review my stories it gives me motivation to keep writing!  
Thanks bunches!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello!  
** **Thank you Kristy Himura and Caliope07 for reviewing!  
** **I'll do my best to post more often than not!  
** **Also for my chapters, I was planning on just making small chapters but they'll probably get bigger as I go.  
** **Alright! Here we go!**

* * *

She had been there just a couple days already and she felt quite satisfied in her living quarters. The apartments usually came empty, but hers had come slightly furnished thanks to the landlord, which was honestly more than enough for her; some dishes, silverware, chairs, and a coffee table. It may not seem like much, but it was more than she's had in a very long time, the new tenant was grateful to the landlord's insistence of making sure she at least had the essentials.  
The young woman was told of her neighbors, some were kind and most kept to themselves, but the one that seemed interesting to her was the one who was pretending to be human. She could see him, the true form he was hiding, it had always been a gift of hers that she did her best not to tap into carelessly.  
She would watch him from the window like she would the others in the complex, he had vivid red hair and striking green eyes, but she would see a flash of silver and molten eyes when he came home.  
Always she would wait until he left for his work to leave, locking the door behind her and with her bag in hand she would head for town she wouldn't return until dark. Mostly by that time he would be home and often times she would notice that he would have someone over. She would hear the muffled conversations when she ascended the stairs, it wasn't until a week after her arrival that she noticed that they would go silent when she approached the stairs. It would be a week until they started getting a little nosy of their friend's silent and elusive upstairs neighbor.  
After that week, she would also realize that she could no longer run from her past.

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He wondered about his new neighbor, she kept to herself and seemed to leave after he would and come home late without a sound. The only reason why he knew she had returned because he, Yusuke and Hiei could sense her approach and they all felt the aura that came from her, she wasn't completely human. Yes, he was the same, but he didn't know her, in fact she hardly seemed interested in making friends.  
It was a rather long day of work, he did not enjoy working late especially when he had classes in the morning, the sun was already setting by the time he was approaching the complex and all he wanted to do was go home and lock the door, not feeling like having company of his friends today.  
Suddenly he was jostled from his thoughts when he nearly collided with someone.  
"Forgive me, I wasn't looking where I was going," the person spoke softly. He blinked at the woman, the same mysterious woman that lived above him.  
"Oh, no need to apologize, I wasn't either," he replied in kind.  
This was the first time he actually had the chance to look at her, he was surprised by her appearance, she looked rather plain compared to the energy and aura that she produced, there was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on.  
"I'm Shuichi, by the way, from the apartment right below yours," he introduced himself before she had the chance to get away.  
She seemed fidgety, like she hadn't expected to run into him of all people, her blue eyes gazed to the side where the stairs were until he had spoken again, "Ninia," she simply replied before a noise from a distance made her muscles go stiff, "I'm sorry, I have to go… it was nice to meet you," she stated.  
Before Kurama could stop her she was half way up the stairs and soon disappeared behind a closed door leaving him standing there alone, "Ninia…" he repeated her name in a whisper. He gazed around, whatever spooked her wasn't there, but he had felt something. His curiosity increased and for a fox the unknown was killing him.

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 **And that's chapter two!  
Let me know what you all think :D  
I'll try to post a new chapter soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! I'm on a roll with this story!  
It's also twice as big as the previous chapters! I knew I couldn't last long with short chapters haha  
Anyways shout out to LadyEllesmere, Redrain19 and DizyWillow for the kind reviews!  
**

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter, Hiei's in this one~ ;)**

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It almost became a normal routine for the girl they recently discovered was named Ninia. She would continue to leave either after Kurama left or she would wait until a certain time when he had either no classes or work and leave then. She would continue to take her bag, which would be fully when she leaves and almost empty when she returned.  
After Kurama's explanation of their first meeting all of them were a little more than curious. The four friends sat within the living room of Kurama's home. Yusuke sat on the lounge chair, Kurama sitting on the couch, Kuwabara sat on the floor beside the coffee table and Hiei opted for the seat nearest the window.

Kuwabara was the first to speak up, "So you think someone's following her?" he asked the question the others were thinking.

"I believe so," he paused, "like I said, I sensed something, but only for a ghost of an instant and apparently so did she," he sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He leaned back into the sofa, "She seemed on edge," he added, "And other then our last encounter it seems she does everything she can to avoid another,"

"Either she hiding something or she hiding from someone, either way it's trouble just waiting to happen," Yusuke chimed in.

All the while the three were talking Hiei silently watched the girl in question walking across the courtyard heading out of the complex, he studied her, noticed the same bag she held tightly as she turned the corner. He glanced over to the others who were too focused on their conversation to notice their topic had already left.  
He gave a scoff before standing, "You three can continue gossiping, I'm not interested," he spoke with indifference.

Kuwabara frowned and scowled at the small demon, "You haven't changed have you shrimp?" he grumbled to which Hiei just gave a, "hn," in reply and left.  
Leaving the three behind to continue what he felt was a waste of time, why talk and assume things when you could find out first hand yourself. That's exactly what he planned to do.

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Hiei had found that following Ninia was harder than he originally thought. Kurama was right to assume the girl had advanced skills that she wasn't showing. He also agreed with the fox that she looked oddly ordinary, though with her extra keen senses on alert he realized that her ordinary appearance was definitely for one thing; hiding. From what he wasn't sure, but something pulled him to continue his study of the young woman.

She walked along path she had become familiar with. Letting herself be caught up in the flow of people. She would glance around occasionally, she knew someone was following her, she just didn't know who it was. She would even casually look around the area trying to locate him, but every time she couldn't pinpoint his locations because he would move quickly before she could find him. Not long after she had first sensed him her worry of him had diminished, something about his aura made her feel that he wouldn't harm her. So instead of trying to lose him, she just continued on, silently noting that he continued tailing her as well. By then she had already made it to a park where there's quite a few trees for families and friends to gather and enjoy nature while still within their city. Ninia had found an empty park table to sit at, placing her heavy bag on the tabletop she began to pull out square objects that were wrapped up in paper as random people began to gather around her.

When she stopped within the park Hiei found himself sitting on a branch in the trees near her, he watched her for a while wondering what she was doing as a slow gather of people from the park approached her. He watched as she interacted with them one by one, watching as she opened the wrap to reveal beautiful works of art, most of them were portraits but there were some that were of objects and sceneries. The people would get so much joy and excitement from seeing the product that she produced, paid her as she wrapped the painting up again and left. Between the times that she was exchanging conversations with patrons or interested clients she would start on her newly acquired projects. He watched with unshown interest as she dirtied her hands with charcoal, listening to the strokes of the charcoal on paper, seeing how she turned a blank canvas into a black and white work of art.

"I know you are there," she spoke breaking the silence. It nearly shocked the silent demon, but he kept his composure. "It's ok, you don't have to show yourself, I just wanted to let you know, you aren't very good at keeping your presence a secret," she added.

"Hn, perhaps I wasn't trying to hide," he replied simply still not about to leave his seat within the tree branches.

She gave a small nod as she finished with her last details of the picture before placing it to the side to start on another, "Why were you following me?" she wondered.

"I was bored," he lied

"So you follow a stranger?" she countered questionly.

"Hn..."

She chuckles lightly, "You're friends with him aren't you? The one from downstairs, Shuichi,"

He changed the subject, "You aren't human,"

She placed her charcoal down and fell into a brief silence, "... no I'm not," she replied in soft words.

He wasn't sure why, but he decided to jump down from his perch and stood across from Ninia who gazed right up to him with no fear in her eyes, it was more vague and hollow, that was how he knew she had gone through something that was equivalent to hell.

The young girl quickly studied the demon before her, "Would you like to sit with me? I'm not going anywhere for awhile," she offered as young human girl came bounding up to her, followed behind by what he assumed were her parents, asking if her drawing was finished.  
Searching through her bag she pulled out another canvas, carefully she unwrapped her work and showcased it to the family, they seemed happy with her service, paid her, took the picture and left.  
Once they were out of earshot she spoke, "I sell my art to help pay for rent," she explained, "It also gives me something to do,"

"Hn," was his only reply as he sat across from her, she smiled at it nonetheless, satisfied with the answer and started to draw again, they both kept their silence for the duration of the time.  
When the sun began to set she gathered her things, though her bag was now much lighter than when she got there. When she was finished she stood from her seat and looked to find that Hiei was gone.

* * *

 **There we go!  
** **I hope you enjoyed this chapter  
** **Let me know what you think!**

 **To BreakingSerenity0629 - I'm still trying to figure out whether she'd just end up alone or she'd be paired with someone,  
** **but she will be getting to know most to all of the characters on a more personal level. So we'll see how this turns out ;)**

 **Anyways, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello!**  
 **Yes, I made my character an artist.**  
 **I wanted something that wasn't a normal type of skill, plus there is a reason for her to be artistic.**  
 **She is not human, but she's not a demon either**  
 **I decided to pull in a creature that I had created a while ago for a role-play I was in and it seems to fit in well.**  
 **Bare with me, as I've said, this is a story I'm making up as I go.**

* * *

She had adjusted to her new addition of her routine. The demon that she learned was named Hiei would continue to follow her as she would go to the park, he would mostly keep his distance, staying in the trees, when the rush of human customers would die down Ninia liked the small conversation that the two would have. Small meaning as little of a reply from the quiet demon as possible and her starting the conversation, but she liked it nonetheless. Today was like the other days, she waved goodbye to her last customer and continued to sketch away on her canvas, when she felt that she was being watched a bit more closely than usual she gazed up from her work and into the eyes of her silent companion who stood across from her much like when they first met.

"Everything alright?" she asked curiously slightly tilting her head to the side as she watched him.

Hiei was as stoic as ever, his gaze was deep and calculating, "It's been a week you know," he spoke up finally

Ninia blinked at that, "A week? Has it been that long already?" she mused when she realized what he was meaning.

"Your continuous talk of everything other than what you know I want to hear is getting rather annoying,"

A soft chuckle escaped her and she covered her mouth before it turned into a laugh, "I apologize, I shouldn't laugh," she contained her amusement and lowered her charcoal covered fingers back to the table as she played with a broken piece of charcoal, "To be honest, your question is intentionally being ignored and I apologize for that Hiei," she began softly as her eyes glanced casually around her before looking back to Hiei, "I've heard it being said that 'bushes have ears and walls have eyes', if I break my silence now I would have to disappear again and I rather like where I am right now," she added as she gave a sad smile, "I do hope you understand,"

Hiei's eyes narrowed as he watched her, he ignored how her soft chuckle made his heart want to beat faster, he tried to ignore how her smile made him want to as well and he stopped himself from getting closer as to wipe away the light smudges of coal that her fingertips had left around her mouth. He frowned at the way she made him inwardly feel. He never really intended on following her around for the past week, he would have thought she would slip and reveal to him what he wanted to know, but she was careful and after trying to reach into her mind he found that she was strong enough to block his telepathic abilities which only had made him even more curious of what she was and why she was taking so many precautions to keep that knowledge hidden.

"Hn," was his reply to her and vanished in a blink of an eye.

* * *

As Ninia was ascending the stairs she was stopped by hearing her name being called, she turned to see Shuichi waving to her with his usual friendly smile. She returned the smile with one of her own, "Oh, good evening Shuichi, you are home earlier than usual," she greeted her neighbor as he approached her.

"I had work this morning and since it's the holidays classes are on break," he answered as he looked up to her, "My friends are coming over tonight, I was wondering if you would like to join us?" he asked.

Ninia stared into Shuichi's green eyes for a while longer than he felt comfortable with, he could tell she was thinking about it, her own eyes seemed to swim with different thoughts, "I'm not sure," she muttered out finally as she broke her gaze and glanced up to her apartment door, "I have some projects I should finish..." she added trying to convince herself that she couldn't accept his invitation.

"All work and no play makes for a dull day!" a new voice popped into the conversation with a laugh at the end.

Ninia jumped just slightly at this and turned her attention to who spoke. Yusuke was standing not too far away from them with a playful grin plastered on his face, his fiance Keiko standing next to him with a bit of an apologetic look. Ninia noticed the other of Shuichi's friends, Kuwabara rounding the corner of the apartment entrance and approaching them. She glanced back to Shuichi who was waiting patiently for her answer, "I suppose I can spare a couple hours," she answered, "Just let me put my things away," and with that she climbed up the stairs unlocked her door and deposited her bag on the table.

She glanced around her empty home as if making sure there would be no one around; she reached into her bag and pulled out a small simple looking vase from a hidden compartment. It was blue in base color with gold script and details and a small cork that sealed the top, it was no bigger than her hand and fit perfectly within the inside pocket of her coat. She locked her door and went back down the stairs, she could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears, she was nervous, not that she didn't want friends, but with her moving around so often she didn't like getting attached, it hurt too much and after a while she tried her best to avoid friendships.

She stood in front of Shuichi's door, 'should I knock... or maybe I should just go back up stairs... maybe...'

"Stare at the door any longer and it may just implode," a very familiar voice spoke. She couldn't help the small smile that formed as she turned to see Hiei standing near. He rose an eyebrow as he walked in front of her and opened the door, "Coming?"

He didn't wait for her answer, but left the door open, her smile widened just a tad more and she followed him in, closing the door behind her as she did.

'Maybe I can stay here... make this my home... that would be nice,'

* * *

 **I'm getting more and more inspiration for this story**  
 **Hopefully you guys are enjoying this tale**  
 **I'd love to hear what you have to say so please leave me some reviews!**

 **I'm working on the next chapter so hopefully it'll be up soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you LadyEllesmere and DizyWillow for the reviews!**  
 **I promise I will reveal what she is soon~**

 **Enjoy!**

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"Don't forget to call me Shuichi, I'd prefer her to not know my other name yet," Kurama instructed his friends as they waited on Ninia to join them downstairs, "I'm honestly surprised that she actually accepted the invitation," he added thoughtfully.

Yusuke grinned as he sat down on the couch, "How could she say no to the charismatic demon Yoko Kurama? Heh, girls can't help but melt when you gaze upon them," he laughed as a pillow, thrown by said charismatic demon, smacked him in the face, "Hey!" the others laughed at him and Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Dude, he just said to keep his real name on the down low duffus, seriously Keiko what do you see in him?" Kuwabara mocked as Yusuke glared at him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, still don't see why you're keeping your name a secret," Yusuke commented as he sat back and put an arm around Keiko's shoulders.

Kurama leaned against a wall, "From what Hiei told me, she's already confirmed to him that she's definitely not human and has wandered to far off places and beyond, who's to say she didn't originate from demon world? And perhaps she is familiar with my 'other name' then she would be familiar with it's reputation and tales too. You would honestly tell me that you would truly trust a fox demon who became infamous for being a cold hearted, murderous thief?"

"Well, when you put it that way..." the sound of the door opening made them drop their current conversation and turned their attention to the entrance expecting to see Ninia come in.

However they were surprised when Hiei walked through instead, which they all thought was odd, even Kurama, when Hiei noticed they were all staring at him he glared at each of them, "What?" he snapped.

"Oh nothing, just didn't expect you to actually use the door, you know," Yusuke piped up with a smirk then his attention moved to the figure that followed in after him, "Oh, now I see, you dog, I didn't think you had it in you Hiei," Yusuke teased, the ex-spirit detective just didn't expect Hiei to get so worked up at the implications he was suggesting, man if looks could kill he knew he'd be dead a hundred times over.

Ninia blinked at the exchange of conversation between Yusuke and Hiei as she walked up to stand next to her more familiar friend, "Um, hello, thank you for inviting me over," she spoke with a small bow. Keiko was quick to go and greet the girl warmly as she lead her to sit with them. Hiei took his usual spot at the window seat as he watched everyone interact. Ninia's gaze would wander over to the demon when she felt his own on her, she'd smile when he would quickly look away.

"So, Ninia, what exactly do you do? If you don't mind me asking," Kuwabara spoke up earning her full attention when he had said her name.

"I'm an artist," she replied, "I go to the parks here and I sell my work, it gives me enough to live comfortably," she added as she took a sip of her tea.

Kurama listened to her, but his mind wasn't truly on the conversation, what he was focused on was trying to read her energy. Her aura was strange to him, it felt familiar, ancient and new all at the same time and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He knew that if she was a demon in disguise he would have sensed that in her aura, but that wasn't it and it frustrated him that he couldn't figure it out.

Coming back into the conversation he realized that Ninia was looking at him with curiosity, his eyes widened for a moment, "I'm sorry I was lost in thought for a moment, were you talking to me?" he question and she gave a nod.

"They were asking if you still wanted to play the board game," she stated to him to which he responded by walking over to the coffee table they were all surrounding now and sat down with them. Ninia then looked over to Hiei, "Are you going to play too?" she asked and blinked when Kuwabara and Yusuke both started laughing which confused her and Hiei glanced away from them.

"Hiei never plays these games with us, he'd rather sulk in his window seat then be caught dead pla- huh?" Yusuke was stopped short on his comment as he watched Hiei sit next to Ninia who was smiling quite happily to him. Yusuke and Kuwabara both had shocked expressions while Kurama hid his surprise at Hiei's willingness to join because Ninia had asked him to.

Hiei glared at them, "Shut up and start the damn game,"

* * *

 **and that's the end to that one  
** **as you can probably tell this chapter was a bit more fluff than stuff, but I want to give more bonding time with all the characters**

 **Again thank you for the reviews I appreciate them completely!  
So please, let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**wow, I'm really moving with this story.  
** **I feel like I'm ignoring my other two stories, which I promise I'm not!  
I'm just finishing these chapters faster is all haha**

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Returning to her apartment after the group slowly disbanded she allowed herself to plop back onto her bed and sighed as she stared at the ceiling. She could hardly remember the last time she really laughed or the last time she could recall really having fun, "It has been too long..." she muttered to herself. Sitting up on the bed she shrugged off her coat and pulled the vase from her inside pocket and placed it on her nightstand. Walking to her bathroom she proceeded to get herself ready for sleep. Her mind continued to play back the wonderful time she had with her new friends.

The next day she decided to stay in, she was sitting Indian style on a bar stool, her focus completely on the canvas that was in front of her, the tray beside her filled with black and white paint and all the mixed shades between the two, brushes were held in a ceramic container and the cleaning solution in a bowl on the lower shelf. Ninia decided to wear comfortable clothing; soft denim jeans that were worn through the knees, her shirt was a loose black tank top. barefooted and her hair was clipped back so it wouldn't bother her train of thought. The girl only slept a few hours when she was struck with the need to paint, her inspiration came in the forms of her new found friends and the little bit of stories they told, of course she had a feeling they kept a lot of the detail out of their tales, but who could blame them for not completely trusting a stranger who also had her own secrets to keep. Either way this project consumed her time and she was nearly completed when she heard a knock on her door.

"Ninia? It's Shuichi," she heard her neighbor's voice from the other side of the door. She gave a sigh of relief that she didn't realize she held as she got up from the stool and quickly pulling on a wrap around her bare shoulders before opening the door. He gave a smile to her, she tilted her head a bit in silent question before her eyes caught sight of a tray of baked goods in his hands, "My mother came by to visit earlier, I can't possibly eat all of these, I was wondering if you would like to have some?" he offered, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," he added noticing quite a few smudge marks from her paints spotting her face and hands. He found her appearance rather adorable, but kept himself composed and from making a comment other than what he already said, he didn't want to embarrass her or anything.

Ninia blinked at the offer and then glanced inside her home. It was a bit messy just due to her putting her project in the middle of her living room, but it wasn't too bad, "Sure, I needed the break anyways," she answered him as she looked back with a small smile, "Come in, just don't mind the mess please, I'll put some tea on," she offered in return opening the door fully to allow him to enter.

He gave a nod in response as he watched her walk to the kitchen, stepping in he glanced around, having the chance to see how Ninia lived was an opportunity he would be foolish not to take. In his scanning he took notice of her paintings, sketches and drawings scattered in an orderly manner around her living quarters, he also noted that her place had minimal furniture, as much as she made the space comfortable to her, to him, it looked more like a temporary space that she lived in, not her home.

He followed her to her kitchen where he placed the treats on her small dining table. "I hope you enjoyed yourself last night," he spoke up as she turned the stove top on to boil the water.

Ninia gave a nod, "Yes, I did, thank you, but I'm going to take a wild guess that Hiei usually doesn't join in the festivities," she giggled softly in amusement, Shuichi too couldn't hold back his own chuckle at the comment and shook his head.

"No, he doesn't, he must think fondly of you Ninia, Hiei's not the type to do anything like that for just anyone,"

"Oh, I see, I'll have to thank him the next time I see him then, time slipped away from me today," the whistle of the kettle came and she pulled out two cups, placing strainers in each cup and some loose leaf green tea she poured the bubbling liquid into each cup and placed a cap over them before transferring the hot beverages over to the table and sitting down with Shuichi.

"I have to say, your work is rather amazing," he commented, Ninia glaced to him to see he was looking at some of her finished works she felt her face go red when she saw that he had found her latest work still sitting on the easel, "Is that? Of us?" he questioned as she quickly moved to the easel and covered the painting with a towel.

"Sorry, I'm not finished with it yet, but yes, the stories your friends told gave me inspiration, I would like to show you all once it's done," she confirmed with a sheepish smile. Shuichi apologized for his nosiness which she forgave and they both settled back at the table and shared in the sweets and hot tea.

After a few moments of enjoying the treats she took a sip of tea and then placed her cup down, "Um, Shuichi..." she spoke up bringing his attention back to her, "I am very much aware of what you are, like I know you are aware of what I'm not," she started and held her hand up when she saw he wanted to speak, but she had more to say, "It's been a long time since I felt comfortable enough to let my burdens be shared, the last time I did I... I never saw him again..." she spoke as she stared intently on the cup of tea in front of her, "For longer than I could remember I had seen and been subjected into so much evil and unkindness that when real kindness came from another demon I hardly knew what to do at first... I did as he told me to, I kept running... I've been running for so long, been to so many places, but never was apart of any it and after a while I felt that it would be my fate," she smiled softly as he watched her intently, "And then I met you and your friends," she paused a moment, "I would very much like to stay here and I feel like I can trust all of you with my secret,"

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 **So that's the end of this chapter, let me know your thoughts!**  
 **The more reviews the faster I write an update lol**  
 **Thanks bunches and I hope you are enjoying my story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! sorry it took so long to post, so I made a big chapter to apologize with!  
Hope you guys like this chapter**  
 **I'm finally about to reveal what Ninia is!**

* * *

When she told him that she would entrust them with her secret he felt a sense of dread that he wasn't sure what to make of. His mind reeled with questions from the little that she had mentioned, was she a slave within demon world, who was this demon that apparently helped her escaped, if she was a slave or owned in some form were they still after her and most of all what is she. So many questions and once again, he had to wait to find out. He hadn't told the others everything she had said, only that she was ready to tell her story, so they agreed to meet at his place that evening. Shuichi stared absentmindedly out the window in class that day, his mind wasn't on the day's curriculum, no, he was already quite familiar with the information that they were discussing and it seemed time was mocking him by ticking away slowly.

xxxxxx

Yusuke was serving another customer his bowl of ramen as Kazuma was already enjoying his own, "Almost time to go to Kurama's place," Kuwabara mentioned between bites earning a nod in response. "I bet you she's some sort of demon on the run from spirit world or something," he guessed as he slurped some noodles.

"What? I would like to think that if she was wanted by the spirit world we would have known about it long before now," Yusuke countered, "Besides she's way too timid and sweet to be a wanted criminal, plus she's already claimed she's not a demon," he added to her defense.

His orange haired friend shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno man, then why the secrecy?"

"Not sure either, but it's something that she's gone to great lengths to keep apparently, so the best we can do is stop assuming and just wait till she tells us,"

xxxxxx

For Ninia her day went on as it usually did. She sat in her normal spot in the park her art displayed tastefully for others to see and purchase. Her eyes glanced up to the trees, she knew he was there, her silent companion that kept her company while she was out. As the day began to slowly fade she finished packing her things and took notice that Hiei was no longer there, she supposed he was already at Shuichi's home waiting with the others for her to come. The artist wasn't sure why she felt like she could trust them, but for the last couple months she felt more at ease here than anywhere she's been to, they made her feel safe and she knew that if she planned on staying here and that if they were to be apart of her life now they needed to know what they were getting themselves into. A frown crossed her features, 'what if they don't accept it... what if they are just like _him'_ she thought as her mind flitted through the 'what ifs' of her situation.

Walking her usual route as she pondered the possible scenarios a chill passed through her making her slow to a stop as she looked around, it was dangerously quiet and she knew something wasn't right, she could feel it. She took a cautious step back as she stared at the corner ahead of her, something was there, waiting for her. Another step back again and froze when a shadow turned the corner, she knew exactly what it was and it made her sick with fear. She didn't give time for whatever was coming toward her to see her, she had turned on her heels quickly and started running her heart was racing, beating loudly in her ears, the shadow quickly pursued her and all she wanted to do was escape it again. She turned a sharp corner and pressed her back against the cold stone wall of a tall building and clasped her hands over her mouth and nose to stop her heavy breathing as shadows swiftly passed her unaware that she was hiding there, she held her breath within those terrifying moments, the sun had sunk down by this time and all was dark.  
Her heart clenched, 'They found me... how could I have thought I could stay... why did I think I was safe here...' tears fell from her eyes as she sank down to the ground pulling her knees to her chest, she needed to wait until they were gone before she moved again, she would have to leave she would need to disappear again, it didn't matter if she liked it here, she wouldn't be caught, never again, she was determined to stay free.

xxxxxx

"She's really late..." Kuwabara pointed out as he looked at the clock.

"Maybe she got cold feet?" Yusuke shrugged.

"I'm sure there must be a reason, perhaps she was just delayed by a customer?" Kurama added with concern.

"Hn..."

The four of them were gathered at Kurama's home. They had been waiting for a few hours now and they still hadn't seen Ninia. It didn't sit right with any of them especially Kurama and Hiei, they both knew her routine and even if she might have been slightly delayed she hardly ever waited this long to return to the apartments.

"I don't like this," Hiei spoke as he stood and was about to leave, "I'll find her,"

"I'll go with you," Kurama insisted only receiving a 'hn' in return, but soon all four of them went running out when they heard a scream not too far away.

xxxxxx

Hiei was the first to arrive at the scene, his eyes widened when his sights landed on Ninia who was trying to pick herself up off the rubbled ground, the fear and desperation was apparent in her eyes. The shadowed figure was closing in on her; destruction left in its wake and demonic energy rolled off of him in waves as he gathered energy to launch at the young girl. The attack was blocked by Hiei, his sword drawn and sliced through the blast with ease.

He heard her gasping his name in surprise as he glanced his dark eyes to her, "Get out of here!" he barked at her as he parried with the aggressor keeping the demon as far away from Ninia as possible.  
She found her footing after Hiei's orders and turned her worried eyes away so she could escape, but she was only able to take a few steps before another creature landed heavily right in her path, the beastly creature let out a feral roar as it leaped at her. She ducked down managing to slip right under the giant creature and turned in time to see it's clawed paw swiping at her. Hiei had knocked the first demon down and swiftly went to Ninia's aid grabbing her just in time before the massive paw could graze her. Next she knew she was held bridal style in Hiei's arms on the top of a high building.

The demon and the beast below were confused at the sudden disappearance of the girl and her new found protector. The demon swore in aggravation figuring that she was once again gone, but the beast sniffed the ground trying to pinpoint her scent again. Hiei took this moment to glance at the girl in his arms, she was terrified, trembling slightly as her hands gripped his cloak like it was her life line and the dried stream of tears were still present upon her cheeks. The shouting of Yusuke below broke Hiei's attention from her as they both noticed that Yusuke and Kuwabara confronted the demon and beast.

"They know I'm here..." she breathed out, "I can't stay..." she muttered in utter despair as she buried her face into his shoulder.

Hiei tightened his hold on her in a protective manner at the thought of her leaving, "We'll protect you," he stated firmly in a low voice before Kurama stepped up beside them.

Her trembling faded at his hushed words, she could hear the two below fighting and at the shout of 'Spirit Gun' she knew that the beast was slain as it howled in pain and a heavy thud was heard when it collapsed onto the ground.

The demon gave another round of curses as he glared hatefully at the ex-Spirit Detective, "Putrid human scum, the Master will not be pleased when he hears his Mytharal is in the hands of vile humans, It _will_ be returned to the Master," he spat distastefully.

"You can tell your 'Master' to shove it, we aren't going to let you just do whatever the hell you please here, we'll kick your ass and your stupid Master's ass too," Yusuke shot back.

The demon gave a deep angry growl, "You dare insult the Master, you inbred half-breed swine!" he yelled before his sights caught Hiei high up on the roof ledge of a building, he was still holding onto Ninia, at this the demon let out a powerful roar of rage that sent an invisible wave of energy that knocked Kuwabara on his back and made Yusuke skid back a few yards away.

He turned his attention and aggression to them; leaping with great ease up to the roof. By this time Hiei had set her down while he and Kurama stayed between the demon and Ninia. They soon realized that the roar that he had made wasn't just from anger, it was a signal call for others because within moments they were surrounded by other demons that manifested from clouds of darkness. They were similar to the one they were already fighting; their forms held no individual distinction like liquid shadows that took human shape and piercing luminous red eyes, "Shadow Demons," Kurama concluded bitterly.

Kurama knew they would be gravely outnumbered if they continued to stay there any longer especially with so many humans around to get hurt or worse, he needed to create a form of escape, "Hand It over and we shall spare your pathetic human-loving lives," the main demon spoke as his glowing red eyes glared upon the two demons that kept him from his target.

"We'd rather not, _she_ stays here," Kurama retorted and glanced to Hiei as they silently agreed to a form of attack. Hiei faded from sight and as the demon tried to pinpoint his next move he was startled to find that the little demon had come at him from behind and gave a few solid slashes to his back before another of his own allies jumped in before he was done under.

Kurama turned to Ninia who was watching everything wide eyed before meeting the fox demon's gaze, "I will need you to get to my apartment as quick as you possibly can," he stated firmly as he slipped his key into her hand.

She gazed down to the small object and frowned, "They won't stop... not until they complete their objective," she spoke in a sad tone.

"Their objective?" he questioned.

"Me... their objective is to return me to the Master," she replied.

Knowing that right then wasn't the time for these questions he gently, but firmly placed his hands upon her shoulders, "Then they will be leaving empty handed," he retorted, "Kuwabara will be below waiting for you, get to the apartment and stay there until we return, do you understand?" she gave a slow nod and he started to turn back to the battle.

"Wait..." she spoke up, "You need to destroy them all at once... if even one is left they'll only continue to multiply," she informed him and he gave thanks to her insight as he joined the fray.  
Ninia watched for a moment as the three of them engaged in combat against the shadow demons. She was amazed at their skill and strength as they seemed to be cutting the number of demons down quickly, her mind wandered back to what Hiei had quietly told her, 'they'll protect me...' she found that idea to be both heartwarming and terrifying especially when she knows what happens to those who have tried to protect her before.

xxxxxx

Turning to the fire escape she ran down the stairs and indeed found Kuwabara there waiting for her. The two quickly made their way down the street to their home. Kuwabara would slice through the occasional shadow demon that would catch up to them, but it didn't take them long to arrive at the gates of the apartment building. She unlocked the door and Kuwabara closed it right behind him locking it back up.

"Why did he insist on me coming here?" she questioned the orange haired fighter.

Kuwabara glanced over to her, "Well, if I had to guess, Kurama's got some traps set for unwanted company, the dude's always prepared. Has back-up plans for his back-up plans, so the safest place to be is right here," he answered her.

She looked at him questioningly, "Kurama... Yoko Kurama?" she asked causing Kuwabara to pale at his slip of Kurama's name.

"I uh, who said Kurama? What I meant to say was ummm ... aw man he's gonna kill me," he groaned and ran his hand down his face. "Forget I said anything!" he pleaded to her.

"It's ok..." she replied as she walked to the window to see that the apartments were now surrounded by lush plant life, vines and demon flowers that seemed to have minds of their own; destroying any of the shadow demons that attempted to enter the grounds, "I heard of him, only through tales that were told to me by another," she mentioned, "Strange how fate intertwined my path with his partner after all these years..."

* * *

 **And that's the chapter~  
**

 **So, I only mentioned what her race is called, the next chapter will explain what exactly a 'Mytharal' is and who she's speaking of.  
Also this species was literally created by me, it is a creature that I pulled out from the actual novel that I am writing so I'm a bit protective of the characters and the race I'm about to share with you my readers.  
There are reasons as to why she can't defend herself which I will be revealing when she finally tells all. **


End file.
